Cambridge CELTA - The gold-standard English teaching qualification

Syllabus overview

The following syllabus is a reflection of the pre-service entry point of prospective candidates and outlines both the subject knowledge and the pedagogic knowledge and skills required for beginner ESOL teachers.
The syllabus consists of five specific topic areas:

• Topic 1 Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
• Topic 2 Language analysis and awareness
• Topic 3 Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
• Topic 4 Planning and resources for different teaching contexts
• Topic 5 Developing teaching skills and professionalism.

Download the Syllabus and assessment guidelines

You will learn a variety of teaching methodologies to use with your students during the course and after you graduate. We provide workshops, tutorials and video content as well as reading materials to help you understand and use these techniques.

On the CELTA course we use an approach called Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which focuses on teaching languages through real-life communication, making it super practical and engaging. Instead of just memorizing grammar rules or vocabulary, students in CLT classrooms practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing in ways that mimic real-world scenarios. We use role plays, group discussions, or problem-solving tasks where the goal is to communicate meaning, not just to get everything perfect.

For teachers, CLT is great because it’s flexible. You can tailor lessons to the interests and needs of your students, making learning more interactive. It shifts the role of the teacher from a strict authority figure to more of a facilitator or guide. That means less pressure to “lecture” and more opportunities to create fun, dynamic activities.

For students, CLT is a game-changer. It’s less about feeling anxious over mistakes and more about expressing ideas and getting your message across. This boosts confidence and encourages learners to take risks with the language. Plus, since it’s communication-focused, students build skills they can use immediately in real-life situations, from travel to work to everyday conversations.

Basically the teaching approach on CELTA courses makes learning a language more fun, relevant, and useful for everyone involved. 

The practical nature of the course is emphasised from the very beginning. You will be in small groups (4 or 5 trainees with one tutor) and you will begin teaching real adult students in the first or second week. After each class you teach, there will be a feedback session with your tutor and fellow trainees followed by lesson planning help for your next lessons. For our trainees, this is usually the most fun part of the course! If you are considering taking the CELTA course online, read our article about what the teaching practice is like on the 100% Online CELTA course.

We believe in learning through involvement and in your grammar and language awareness sessions you will mostly experience a workshop approach, where your tutor acts as a “facilitator/animator” rather than as a lecturer.

You will also observe some of our tutors so you can see first-hand how experienced teachers plan and deliver classes, providing further insights into lesson planning, staging and management.

All of our classrooms are equipped with modern technology and we encourage the use of YouTube, interactive online teaching platforms (Kahoot, Quizlet etc) and social media alongside the use of books and other more traditional activities. The school has a wide variety of resources available to you to use to help create engaging classes for your students.

Our careers advisor will provide a session on finding work after your course and you will be given expert advice on preparing your CV which highlights your background, education, experience and skills. You will be able to meet our careers advisor as many times as you like during and after the course. See our careers service page for more information.